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Media Release

10 October 2014

State Looks To Shared Fleet To Drive Savings

10 October 2014

Government car pools could soon become a thing of the past in NSW government agency buildings with Minister for Finance and Services, Dominic Perrottet, today announcing a trial of car-sharing services across the public service.

“It doesn’t make sense for government and taxpayers to foot the bill for purchasing and maintaining more than 20,000 vehicles when some are used only a handful of times each week,” Mr Perrottet said.

“In metropolitan areas like Sydney car-sharing services such as GoGet, Hertz 24/7 and GreenShareCar offer a more efficient alternative to a state-owned fleet.

“Share cars come in all shapes and sizes, are available at a number of locations, and most cases cars can be booked at short-notice either online or by phone 24-hours, seven days a week.

“Currently, government and taxpayers pay all associated costs of vehicles regardless of how frequently they are used. Under the shared model, in addition to administration charges, we will only need to pay for the length of hire and the kilometres driven.

“Car-sharing may not be suitable to every agency all the time, though it is hoped that the trial will provide another cheaper, quicker and more efficient alternative to using a fleet.”

A number of car-share services will be invited to take part in the six month trial.

"The NSW government joins a growing number of jurisdictions who are adopting car-sharing services,” says Rachel Botsman, global expert on collaborative consumption. "New technology, greater convenience and smarter resource utilisation are all driving savings in taxpayer dollars.”

The car-share trial is part of the recommendations handed down through an independent review conducted by PwC into the NSW Government’s fleet services.

The review into StateFleet, which currently holds a monopoly on leasing vehicles to Government agencies, recommended that greater competition should improve services quality and reduce costs.

In particular, the review recommended the Government should test the market to determine whether the private sector can assist in reducing the costs of Government fleet leasing and management services.

Mr Perrottet said other options were also being considered to reduce the more than $250 million spent annually on fleet vehicles.

“Government is spending too much on providing services that in many cases are readily available and already offered by private sector operators,” he said.

“I’ve asked my department, Office of Finance and Services, to examine the feasibility of private companies having greater involvement in providing vehicles and fleet management services for government agencies.

“More competition within government fleet could mean lower expenses for agencies and greater savings for Government and taxpayers. These funds could be redirected to provide new services.”

Earlier this year, it was announced that annual savings of more than $14 million had been made following a review into fleet efficiency across Government.

The leasing and management of state government fleet vehicles is provided by State Fleet, a division of Office of Finance and Services.